


i don't wanna hear about the bad blood anymore

by GalaxyGhosty



Series: The Monster's Darling [15]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Feelings, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-03
Packaged: 2018-10-27 03:51:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,819
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10801122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalaxyGhosty/pseuds/GalaxyGhosty
Summary: AU. “Hi, Mark,” Jack shifts his weight between his feet. “Can...can we talk?”





	i don't wanna hear about the bad blood anymore

**Author's Note:**

> So how many fics do I have to title with Bastille lyrics before someone calls me out on my unhealthy obsession?
> 
> Anyway. This chapter is something I've been wanting to write for a while, because this conversation has sort of been...on the back-burner. People received Mark as stupid and naive, and to be fair he was, but what he did wasn't out of malice. I wanted to make sure that was known. He really does care. 
> 
> This is the only part not through Dark's point of view, and the only part that Dark does not appear in. But we do get to hear Jack and his thoughts--just a little bit. 
> 
> More to come. More in-depth stuff to come. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy!
> 
> Title from "Bad Blood" by Bastille.

When Jack knocks on the door, he doesn’t know what to expect. 

He hasn’t been to Mark’s apartment since he took him home that night, and he’s been avoiding every phone call, every conversation since then. Facing him after what happened with Dark feels awkward, but he figures now’s the time if any to have this conversation. 

The door opens with a small squeak, reminiscent of his past days with Mark. A pang of sadness fills him at the thought--sometimes he misses Mark, even if he doesn’t want to be with him anymore. He misses how gentle Mark was, how considerate, foolish, and naive, about everything. 

“Oh,” Mark says, his voice scant above a whisper. “Hi, Jack.” 

“Hi, Mark,” Jack shifts his weight between his feet. “Can...can we talk?” 

He rubs the back of his neck. “Uh. Yeah, sure. I just started some coffee.” 

Stepping to the side, Mark lets him in, before shutting the door behind him. His eyes glaze over the apartment, the same as he’d left it all that time ago. A few new additions here and there, but nothing drastically different. He lets out a small sigh--he doesn’t know what he’d been expecting. 

Mark sits down on the couch, patting the spot next to him. Jack’s stomach churns, but he swallows it down as he sits down next to him, carefully not touching him. 

“You’re good?” Mark asks, and Jack suspects it’s a question Mark doesn’t really want to be asking.

“Yeah,” he says. “About as well as can be expected, given the circumstances. You?”

“Concerned,” Mark mumbles. His eyes snap up as Chica wanders into the room.

Jack’s heart squeezes. She trots over to him, bumping her head against his knee. He pets her gently, rubbing behind her ears. “Hey, girl. Look at how big you’ve gotten. Have you been a good girl for Mark?” 

“Other than shitting all over my floor,” Mark quips. “She’s been fine.” 

At this, he lets out a little laugh, shaking his head. “She is still a puppy, after all.” 

Mark nods, but says nothing, and Jack can feel that familiar tension boiling in his throat. He tries to settle the nerves, but it doesn’t seem to be happening.

“Were you hoping to win me back?” Jack asks, because he has to. There’s no point in having anymore small talk, as they both know that’s not what Jack’s here for. He doesn’t think that Mark would stoop so low, but he wants that question out of the way, first and foremost.

Mark reaches over to rub Chica’s back. “No. I knew you didn’t want me when I found out you cheated. But I still worried about you. I knew that you weren’t in the best situation by any stretch of it. We agreed to be friends, but for a while I couldn’t look at you without being bitter, and I needed time.” 

“That’s fair,” Jack says. “And...now?”

“Now’s okay,” Mark sighs. “A while after the whole ordeal, I met Amy. She and I are--we’re kinda complicated, but I think...we’re a thing? She’s a coworker, just transferred to my department. We’ve gone on a couple dates, and I really like her. I was scared to like her at first, because I thought she was just a rebound, but I’m pretty confident now that I just like her for her.” 

“I’m really happy for you,” Jack murmurs. Realizing how fake that may sound, he amends, “Really. I’m really glad you found someone you like.” 

Mark gives him a tight smile. “Thanks. I’m glad too. But even with her in my life, I’m still worried about you. Because I’d like to think we’re friends. And so when I was approached by those people, saying you were in danger…” 

He’s quiet. Jack lets him go on. “I was always nervous about the guy you left me for. I didn’t know a lot about him because you were so private about him, but I knew he meant a lot to you. I had the sinking suspicion when we first got together that you still had strong feelings for him. I was hoping I’d be enough to draw you away, but it seems like...he’s always been it for you, huh?” 

“Yeah,” his lips twitch into a ghost of a smile. “I’m sorry, Mark. I loved you, if that matters. I really did. But he...he’s everything to me.”

“I loved you too,” Mark squeezes his shoulder. “And I still do. But in a totally platonic way. You’re a really cool guy.”

Jack pats his hand. “Feeling’s mutual. I just...wanted to clear the air between us. I know that things have been strained, especially now since the run-in with Cry. God, Mark, he could have killed you. Why did you listen?”

“Again,” Mark reiterates. “He mentioned you, and the guy you left me for. I was worried. He said that he was a shit, a murderer, and a liar. Of course I was going to jump on that. I had no reason not to. All I could think of was how much danger _you_ were in. I thought what’s-his-face was going to kill you. So I wanted you to know everything. When Cry told me he killed your mom, and how he did it, I _had_ to get you away from him. That’s why I listened.”

“But I was safer with Dark than I was Cry,” Jack muses. “Cry put me through more hell than Dark ever did. The worst thing Dark ever did was tell me he didn’t love me. Cry…”

“I know that now,” Mark gnaws on his lower lip. “I don’t know the specifics of what happened between you and Cry. I don’t want to. But when I saw your face when you heard him, I knew that whatever he’d done couldn’t have been good.” 

Jack shrugs. “Let’s just say...I still dream about it, sometimes. Thank you, Mark, for what you...you tried to do. For still caring. I know I wasn’t fair to you. I’m sorry. I don’t know if I ever actually apologized for how awful I was to you, to us. I’m so sorry.” 

“I forgive you,” Mark murmurs. “I’m glad we talked, Jack. You should...come around more. Chica’s missed you.” 

“And I’ve missed this wonderful girl,” Jack rubs her neck, kissing her on her wet nose. “All of my blessings to you and Amy, though I doubt you want it. You don’t need it, either.”

“It’s appreciated nonetheless,” Mark points out. “Thank you. So how are things…?” 

Chica rests her head in Jack’s lap, and he sighs. “With Dark? They’re not. That’s what you were hoping for, right?”

“I just don’t want you getting hurt anymore,” he says gently. “He’s not a good man.”

“I know,” Jack tells him. “I’ve always known that, Mark. To tell you the truth, if I could push this under the rug and forget it, I would. Like I have everything else about him. He’s done awful things, unspeakable things, but he’s always--he’s always cared about _me_. Everything in the world that he’s done wrong, and he’s always tried to do right by me. Sometimes it didn’t work. But it was never because he wanted to hurt me. You know what I’m saying?” 

“Not really,” Mark smiles, soft and sad. “You still love him.” 

It’s not a question, but a fact. Jack nods. “Of course I do. Stupid, right?” 

“Little bit,” his ex admits. “Why?”

“I feel like this is weird, explaining why I love someone else to my ex-boyfriend, who is coincidentally also seeing someone new,” Jack mumbles.

Mark shrugs. “Humor me. Pretend I’m your therapist.” 

“He’s just...it for me,” Jack sighs. “He’s all I’ve ever known since I was sixteen. I dated on and off, even when Dark and I were fucking around. The boyfriend I had before you hit me, beat me up a lot, and it took everything to make sure Dark wouldn’t kill him. He’s just--he’s always been there. Taking care of me. When I left him for you, he just...he let me go. But his door was always open. I was the only one.”

“Do you know that for sure?” Mark prompts him gently. “That it was only ever you, and not someone else while you were away?”

“Fair,” Jack says. “But yes, I’m sure. His partner, like, his business partner--he told me that I’m the only one willing to put up with ‘that psycho shit’ as he refers to him. He knows Dark. When I came into the picture, it was just me. He didn’t want anyone else. When Cry took me, he risked everything to get me back alive. He’s always made sure I had someone to turn to. Like I was never alone if I didn’t want to be. Yeah, he killed my mom, and yeah, he knew it was my mom, and I don’t think I’ll ever forgive him for not telling me the truth.” 

A pause. Then, “But?” 

“But I still love him,” Jack breathes out, reaffirming his earlier statement. “And maybe someday, I’ll be able to move past it.” 

“Don’t give it to him easy,” Mark advises, after some time. “Okay? Make him work for it real damn hard. Like, beg you to come back. Really torture his ass. Don’t tell him you still love him. Tell him you don’t _know_ if you still love him. That shit hurts.”

“When did you get so sadistic?” Jack jokes, nudging him with his shoulder. “I don’t remember you being that nasty.” 

“As you change, so do I,” Mark says with a wry smile. “But really, I...I want you to be happy. I want that for you. And believe me, I really don’t want it to be with him because I’m worried about your safety. But I don’t think your feelings are gonna change, and what’s that old saying? _The heart wants what it wants_. But I also don’t think he’s gonna change, either, if I were to wager a guess.” 

Jack lets out a humorless chuckle. “He never really does. Though he always likes to tell me I’m an exception to everything.”

“Boo,” Mark sticks out his tongue. “Seriously. What you do is up to you. I’m sure there is someone else in the world better for you than him, but I get that maybe that other person isn’t appealing. Whatever you do--that's your call, and only you can make it. I’m staying out of it from now on. I think it’s better that way. ”

“Probably,” Jack relents. “Thank you, Mark. We should...grab coffee sometime.”

“Bring Robin,” his ex says. “I’ll bring Amy. We’ll just make it a nice friend get-together.” 

“I’d like that,” he says, and he means it. 

Mark smiles, and for the first time in a little while, Jack feels he can breathe.

**Author's Note:**

> I never forget how lucky I am to have a readership like you guys. You are all so insanely sweet and talented and I love hearing from you! Thank you all so much for being here, it really means the world to me. <3 
> 
> Come visit with me at galaxyghosty.tumblr.com!


End file.
